Thursday, April 22, 2010

The Betty Crocker Project : Buffalo Chicken Wings

Welcome to the shameless Meet The Shannons/NBA Playoffs cross-promotion. Though not as shameless as this one - at least ours makes sense.

When I married an Irish-Italian boy from Boston I knew what I was getting into - unlike the Miami Heat this week. They may have thought that since Kevin Garnett was suspended they had a chance. Even the die-hard Boston fans were like : "How will we live without him?"

What they didn't count on was Big Baby Davis stepping up and proving to us all that just because someone or something is a substitute doesn't mean they can't BRING IT! Just like these faux chicken wings - that we have renamed Big Baby Hot Wings. . . because even The Heat have nothing on how hot they are!

1 Package of your favorite Fake Chicken on/and skewers ( We went with these Chicken Drumsticks from May Wah that are very similar to these but are not "spiced" - but I think this recipe would work just as good with Chicken Seitan or Morningstar Chikn Strips on bamboo skewers or toothpicks. The Fake Chicken should be put on the skewers AFTER being coated in the Flour mix. Fake Chicken should be defrosted. )

In a 13x9 pan, melt the butter in the oven. In a large zip lock bag, mix Flour, Salt and Pepper. Put the Fake Chicken in the bag and shake - 2 at a time - until the Chicken is completed coated. Place coated Chicken in the pan.

Bake uncovered for 3-5 minutes and then flip the Chicken to make sure it gets completely covered with the Margarine. It should take about 10 minutes for the Fake Chicken to be a golden color and have a crispy coating. . . If you are using smaller pieces of Fake Chicken - it will take less time - so keep an eye on them.

During that time mix BBQ Sauce, Hot Sauce, Cajun Seasoning, Liquid Smoke and Cumin in a bowl.

Once the Fake Chicken has a golden crispy coating pull it out of the oven and pour the BBQ mix over the Fake Chicken. Flip the Fake Chicken a few times to make sure it gets completely coated in the BBQ mix.

Bake uncovered for around 10-12 minutes. or until the BBQ Sauce reaches a desired moistness. . . some people like them more sticky than saucy.

These look delicious! However, they aren't actually Buffalo wings, they're more of spicy BBQ wings. The lack of meat is fine (awesome, actually), but nowhere in Buffalo would you find sauce that looks or tastes like that. The taste should include no sweetness, and the color should be more like this: http://www.veganbean.com/.a/6a00d8356583e569e2010535bfc434970b-320wi

This may sound like a minor point, but to a Buffalonian, this is like having a recipe for "Sicilian pizza" with ketchup instead of pizza sauce. Or "Pad Thai" with macaroni instead of the rice noodles.

I know that all Americans have far and away more respect for Buffalo than that, so I'm pretty sure it's just lack of information.

This is a good article for more of that: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_wings

Btw, I'm not blaming anyone for this, it's a common mistake, and might have been an error in Betty Crocker's book that just made it's way here.

Well - To address the Buffalo title : We agree. The title of each blog entry is the title of the recipe we are adapting in the Betty Crocker Cookbook for the folks who are following along in their own copies. We agree and that was one of the reasons we renamed them after Big Baby Davis on The Celtics. :)